Italy promises UNESCO it will not abandon Pompeii

AFP, ROME

Tue, Jul 02, 2013 - Page 7

Italy’s culture minister assured UNESCO on Sunday that efforts were being made to restore the long-neglected Roman city of Pompeii, after the UN organization urged the country to speed up repairs.

“Pompeii is a symbol for our country. UNESCO’s reprimand is an alarm which I take very seriously and we are already working to overcome the site’s urgent problems,” Italian Culture Minister Massimo Bray said in a note.

Giovanni Puglisi, head of the UNESCO National Commission in Italy, on Saturday warned the government that it “has until December 31 to adopt suitable measures for Pompeii,” before a progress assessment by the organization in February next year.

In a report in January, UNESCO documented structural shortcomings and damage at the site in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, where collapses have sparked international concern.

The giant erupting volcano devastated Pompeii nearly 2,000 years ago in 79 AD, but the ash and rock helped preserve many buildings almost in their original state, as well as enveloping the curled-up corpses of victims of the disaster.

The hugely popular site near Naples has come to symbolize decades of mismanagement of many of Italy’s cultural treasures, as well as the fallout from austerity cuts.

Puglisi warned of “irregular buildings not included in the previous plan and a lack of personnel” at Pompeii and called for “a new observance zone” around the site to protect it from illegal constructions encroaching upon the area.

Conservators began a 105 million euro (US$136 million) makeover of the site in February — funded to the tune of 41.8 million euros from the EU — to be completed by 2015.

The repairs are aimed at reducing the risk of exposure to the elements, reinforcing the ancient Roman buildings, restoring Pompeii’s famous frescoes and increasing video surveillance at the site, where security is often lax.

“Two of the first five archeological restoration sites have been opened, the third will open in the coming days,” Bray said. “By 2015, we will have 39 sites open, a challenge we fully intend to overcome.”

The “Grand Pompeii Project,” as it is known, aims to improve facilities for visitors and the European Commission estimates tourist numbers could increase from about 2.3 million a year to 2.6 million by 2017.